Carwashing businesses and services are starting to show their modern iterations in increasingly convenient new ways. Yes, brick-and-mortar conveyor carwash establishments still corner the lion’s share of the industry, but other services and platforms, such as mobile carwashing, are starting to be developed and explored with intriguing results.
Among these new age services are businesses that will physically come to the customer wherever he or she is in order to lend their carwashing and detailing expertise. In our app-heavy times, many of these services make it increasingly easy on their customers by providing technology that will send an experienced detailer to their doors at the push of a button. These services come with all of the supplies and capabilities to clean their clients’ vehicles.
Era of convenience and eco-friendliness
Several mobile carwashing services are popping up nationally in these times where convenience is king — worldwide, as a matter of fact. It’s a rather simple concept for consumers, the idea of a full service carwash with the ability to meet them at their doorsteps, ready to wash and detail their vehicles.
A service like this could even theoretically come to customers while they’re at work, getting a haircut or even having brunch. Customers getting their cars spruced up while they tackle tasks and emails during their daily grind is appealing to many people.
New businesses are emerging all over California and a variety of other locations in the region advertising the luxuries of carwashes on the spot. Mobile carwashing is a convenient option for those who stay on the go.
Moreover, with the ongoing concern about climate conditions, we speak at length on the subject of safe and environmentally sound water usage in this process. Unlike their predecessors, Generations X and Y as well as millennials have only existed in a world that is aware and caring of the environment.
Related article: The waterless car care movement
Water usage is a huge concern in many industries, including carwashing, and is of particular interest in Southern California, which is constantly plagued by drought; eco-friendliness is of paramount importance. Usage and misusage is a hot-button issue that a carwashing business doesn’t want to be on the wrong side of.
If a business is looking to attract loyal customers, it’s important to realize that more and more people in this day and age are paying attention to what companies and certain industries are doing to the environment and what sort of carbon footprint is being left behind. If a carwash and detail business practices eco-friendly methods, it’s important that the company makes this apparent to its customers.
We also see a trend where mobile carwashing companies are not only saying they are convenient, but also claim to be efficient and responsible when it comes to their water usage. A significant amount of importance is placed on washing cars in a timely fashion without expending an exorbitant amount of resources.
While the technology is different, the actual carwash methods themselves may be familiar. In general, most companies use the same or similar techniques found at full service carwashes; the only difference is that they are willing and able to meet with customers at the consumer’s chosen venue.
Looking to the future
The success of mobile carwashes depends on how much value drivers place on saving time and expending less energy by not having to drive to a carwash business. If success follows, this could be a key stage of innovation in the carwash industry.
Consumer behavior shows that eco-friendly soaps, cleaning products and environmentally responsible water usage are key factors of success. There will be competition, as there are already numerous companies vying for the hand of drivers seeking a convenient carwash experience.
Apps are emerging on the App Store and Google Play from several companies that pitch to drivers their unique distinctions, including exterior cleaning, drying, interior cleaning, vacuuming, tire dressing and premium services such as adding light stain removal, leather conditioning and a full exterior wax and dressing of exterior plastics.
Generally, the vans that provide these portable wash services are operated by insured drivers and technicians. Similar to ride-share companies, such as Uber and Lyft, they are also increasingly interested in supplying jobs to the community, recruiting clients, drivers and skilled carwashers.
The initial responses to these types of services have been positively exhibited through reviews on Yelp, Yahoo, Google and other business portals, by social media reaction and in the general growth of the industry. Emerging businesses that are recognizing this trend will have a unique opportunity in the modern age to receive a lot of direct feedback from their clientele with an opportunity to gain valuable word-of-mouth advertising as long as they continue to do good work and leave behind satisfied customers.
It appears that the mobile carwashing industry will be a trend to keep note of in the future, especially as businesses begin to specialize in washing and detailing cars and trucks of all varieties, from economy-sized to luxury sedans and large SUVs.
It will be interesting to see where this trend takes us in the future, whether or not this idea will gain traction or if it will continue to take a backseat to more dominant brick-and-mortar carwashing and detailing businesses.
This article was provided courtesy of Alex Stein from MobileWash. MobileWash is a software company that is stepping into the service of providing portable carwashes throughout Southern California, including Long Beach, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, San Pedro, Santa Monica, Whittier, Bellflower, Palos Verdes and Lakewood. The company manages an app that allows drivers and clients to schedule carwashes at any location for their convenience. Contact for MobileWash can be found at https://www.mobilewash.com.
